


The Quest for Lobster

by cherry_blobby



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alex (Mentioned) - Freeform, Attempt at Humor, Don't take it seriously, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Jodi (Mentioned) - Freeform, Leah (Mentioned), Multi, Penny (Mentioned) - Freeform, Shane (Mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherry_blobby/pseuds/cherry_blobby
Summary: 'Out of all the tasks you could have become fixated on, crab pots are admittedly the weirdest.'To say you have a problem with crab pots may be a bit of an understatement.In your eyes, it's all worth it to get that lobster forthem...
Relationships: Elliott (Stardew Valley)/Reader, Elliott/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Elliott/Male Player (Stardew Valley), Elliott/Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 61





	The Quest for Lobster

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based off my in-game experience. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

As the sun rises over Pelican Town, the distant sound of heels on cobble can be heard. Some people may turn their heads thinking, _‘Why on Earth is someone making that noise at 8am?’_ , but the culprit has no care for that. They can worry about that later. They only have one thing on their mind.

You only have one thing on your mind.

You've tended the crops, fed the chicken and sold the produce. Now that's all out of the way, you can focus on the one thing you've been working on all season- the crab pots. Yoba knows the amount of gold and resources you’ve poured into making them. The amount of bug’s you’ve slain for bait and the amount you spent on them in Willy’s shop. 

It’s gotten to the point where it's become one of your biggest money makers. Yes, you could be focusing on other things to get more gold, but gold isn’t the reason why you're pouring all this dedication into them. 

Why are you making so many crab pots? Well the answer is quite simple: you're in search of a certain red crustacean. Not a crab, but a long, fresh lobster. 

You have no time to say hello to Evelyn tending the plants or Jodie heading to Joja Mart. You can say hello to them later- this comes first. Bait is practically bursting out your pocket, waiting to go inside one of those crab pots. Out of all the tasks you could have become fixated on, crab pots are admittedly the weirdest.

You pace over the bridge leading to the beach. Penny sees you and gives you a faint wave; you give her a small wave back and continue on your way. She gives you a, _‘What on Earth are you doing?’_ , look, but she doesn't stop you to ask any questions. 

Your pace slows down, as soon as you get on the beach. You head towards the crab pots you placed at the west of the beach. You feel relief when you see they are all full. You bend down at your first pot- trash. You look in the next, more trash, the next, shrimp, and the rest of the pots. You let out a massive sigh of frustration, no lobsters.

What are you doing wrong? You just need a lobster, just one. At the rate it's going, you're not going to get one in time.

You walk, bugged, away from the crab pots. You smile at Alex as you walk by, heading to the port. You take a deep breath, you will get the lobster, you just need more crab posts. You head to Willy’s shop, clutching the gold in your pocket. Maybe you could get a couple extra pots…

The door creaks as you open it. You enter the shop, the smell of salt filling your nose. Willy sees you and gives you a small smile.

“Welcome (Y/N), what canny do for you?”

“Just here for some of those pots.”

Willy rolls his eyes with a smile, “Eye, I'm not even sure why I ask anymore.”

You walk up to the counter and place the gold on it. Willy sifts through the gold, counting as he goes. He pushes some of it to the side and the other pile back to you. 

“Yer can get three crab pots, (Y/N).”

You take the gold that was handed back and place it into your pocket. Willy bends down under the counter. You can hear clunks and bumps as he pulls the crab pots out for you. He places them on the counter and you take them with a smile.

“Thank you, Willy.”

Willy gives you a hearty laugh, “With the amount of these your buying, yer gonna fill up the sea.”

You give a small laugh in return, but you think, _‘Well if it comes down to it…’_

As you leave the shop, you wave back to Willy. You close the door behind you and sigh, _‘Well here we go again…’_ You head back towards the crab pots, balancing the three new ones in your arms. You’ve become quite accustomed to balancing them in your arms now… maybe they are becoming a problem… _nah_.

You place the three new crab pots and fill them with fresh bait. Maybe, just maybe, this time you’ll finally get that silly lobster you need. You close them with a sigh and stand up, wiping your hands on your trousers.

Quickly, you turn around to head on your way. As much as you prioritise the crab pots, you do have other jobs to attend to. Besides, you only get one batch of captures per day. You head back towards the bridge in town, backpack full of all you collected on the beach. You pick up some forageables on the way, maybe you could put the extra gold towards _more_ crab pots… or, you guess, something more profitable like cranberry seeds…

You head over the bridge back into town. When walking over it, you pass by Elliott. He’s often stood on this bridge just staring into the river below. After this he’d probably go to the library, like he does on most Fall days ( _only Yoba will know how you know that_ ). He sees you passing and he gives you a brief wave. You, quickly, wave back, hiding your face just in case he was to see it go red. 

•••  
Swiftly, you swing your sword at the slime. The gooey monster bursts into balls of itself. You sift through the slime and find a couple pieces of iron ore. You add the slime and copper to your backpack and head back towards the ladder.

You had a semi-successful mining trip. You found enough ore to sustain you for a while, but you know you would have to come back in a week to find more. Who knew you needed so much metal bars in the life of a farmer? You pull yourself up the ladder, backpack tugging behind you. When you exit the mines, the sun has just begun to go down. Good- this means you have just enough time to put the ores in the furnaces. 

You arrive back at the farm, after a short walk back through the mountains. You get coal out of your chests so you can smelt the ore and you put the minerals in storage. You collect some wood and wait for the iron to finish smelting. The embers flicker, lighting up your face as you stare at the furnaces. The embers begin to disappear and you, carefully, pull out an iron bar. You pull out all the smelted bars and collect your wood.

Using the wood and iron, you combine them together. Happy with your work, you place what you created into your backpack with a smile. You can’t wait to put it into use tomorrow. 

Yet another crab pot.

•••

Once again, you go through your morning routine. Crops, chicken and now the crab pots. You take your usual path to the beach, sparing no time for any distractions. The weight of the new crab pot in your backpack is heavy, but you're still making it to the beach in good time.

Once you get to the beach, in normal routine, you head towards the pots. You quickly check through them for the contents: just trash. You let out a groan in frustration, _‘Why is it so hard to get a lobster?!’_. You take the new pot out of your backpack and place it on the end of the row. After filling them all with bait, you turn to leave the beach.

On the way out, you pick up a couple of shells, _Maybe the money made from them might make you feel a bit better…_ When you're placing them in your bag, you hear the sound of a door opening. You turn towards the noise to see Elliott step out of his cabin. He has a travel mug in his hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. Before you can look away, he sees you looking and waves.

“Good morning, (Y/N)!”, he smiles, “Lovely day, is it not?”

You give a sheepish smile, “Yeah, hahah…”

“Oh how rude of me, (Y/N)”, Elliott exclaims, “Do you want a cup of coffee? I made extra for later, but you can always have some.”

“Oh.. yeah… that would be nice thanks.”

Elliott smiles at you, as he pulls his bag off his shoulder. He opens it and rummages through it, eventually pulling out a silver travel flask. He pours some of the contents into the lid of the flask and hands it over to you. Smiling, you accept the steaming coffee off of him.

“Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me”, Elliott smiles, “It’s the least I can do, especially when you come out here so early. I know you must be so tired and cold…”

“Ahah, yeah you know it”, you reply with a shaky smile, “But, yaknow, the earlier you get to crab pots the better.”

“Mhm, indeed”, Elliott nods with a smile, “Are the crab pots working for you? Are they yielding enough crustaceans for you?”

“They’re giving me enough shrimps and crabs, yeah…”

“Do you think it may be worth me getting one of my own”, Elliott questions, “I have a particular fondness for Lobsters and it would be great if I had a solid source of them.”

 _You already know that_. You reply, “Probably not, I’ve not gotten one yet.”

“That’s a shame”, Elliott tells you, “How is the coffee?”

You look at the coffee, you’ve yet to take a sip of, and smile. In one swift act, you drink the entire cup in one. Your throat screams as soon as the hot liquid touches it. _Oh Yoba, why did you do that…_

“Oh wow that was amazing!”, you stutter, handing Elliot the lid back, “Anyway, I need to go go now. The farm can’t wait!”

Before Elliott can even bid you farewell, you're already walking away. As he watches you, he screws the lid back on the flask and puts it in his bag again. He shakes his head and continues on his journey to the library.

•••

Days keep passing like a blur. You haven’t broken routine once and now everything feels like it's dragging on. Every day you just water crops, feed your chicken, collect from the crab pots and mine. 

It’s coming closer to the day where you desperately need the lobster, yet you seem to be getting everything but it. You’ve considered giving up, but the amount of time and gold you’ve invested into it makes you continue. On the day you need it, you could hope the travelling merchant is selling one, but she's probably just going to sell another Sunfish. 

Once again, today you were met with no lobster. You shoved all the shrimp and crabs into your backpack so you can take them to Willy’s. With the amount of trash you’re getting from these pots, you should probably make a recycling machine or two to make use out of it. You walk over to Willy’s shop, waving at Alex as you pass by. 

The bell rings, as you open the door, and Willy looks over. He must be used to seeing you here now, you come here a lot now. You walk over to the counter and fling your bag off your back, on the way there. It thumps on the counter and you open it to fish through for items to sell. You bring out the shrimps and crabs you got from the crab pots today. You also bring out some shells you picked up on the walk over.

Willy takes the items and counts them up, “That’s about 700 Gold.”

Willy tries to hand you the gold, but you just hand him more, “This should be enough for a crab pot.”

With a sigh, Willy takes the gold, “Listen, (Y/N), I appreciate the business, I really do, but don’t you think this is becoming too much?”

“I don’t know”, you shrug,”Maybe?”

Hesitantly, Willy bends under the desk to grab you another crab pot, “I’ll give you this one, but it’s your last one.”

Your face churns in shock, “What? Are you banning me from getting crab pots?”

“Eye- basically”, Willy shrugs, “You can still buy other things, but no more crab pots.”

“I-I don’t know how to process this-”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N), but believe me when I tell you I’m doing this with good intentions”, Willy smiles, “I’m just trying to prevent you from spiralling out of control over some crab pots.”

You sigh, disappointed, “I guess you’re right...”

Willy gives you a gleeful laugh, “Eye that’s good. I’m glad you understand I’m just trying to help.”

Willy hands you your final crab pot. You take it and stuff it in your bag, leaving the store. Willy sends you a wave, as you leave, and you smile back. As soon as you leave the store, your face drops. You let your frustration leave you, as your body slumps. How are you going to get that lobster now?

An idea hits you- _mining_. Willy can’t put a ban on mining. You can get the resources for crab pots and make your own. You probably can’t get as much as you could have bought, but this would have to do. 

You speed walk towards your crab pots. You swiftly place the new one and fill it with bait. You rush away from the beach as fast as you can. Adrenaline fills you again; you just need to get to the mines as fast as possible. You _will_ get those crab pots and you will get that lobster.

•••

Your deadline is hours away now- _tomorrow_. You can’t sleep. It’s all finally sunk in.

_Willy was right._

You spent all that gold, all those resources on crab pots- _and for what?_ You have nothing to show for it. You bulk bought and made them in the past three days- now you just have a mass of pots you don’t feel as motivated to fill anymore.

You just wanted to do something nice. You just wanted to see someone's face light up at the sight of a lobster on their birthday. Maybe, just maybe, it could have shown how much you cared. Your mind made you envision it so clearly, convinced you it would happen, and now reality just disappoints you.

Roughly, you turn over in your bed. You can’t put your mind to rest, you can only hope you can find something for him tomorrow. It probably won’t be as good, but at least it would be something…

Tomorrow will probably be the most embarrassing day for you- and nobody will even know all the effort you tried to put in.

•••

Eventually, you did get to sleep. It took a long time and a lot of shuffling, but you managed to get a couple hours in. You slowly bring yourself out of bed, not feeling as motivated to do your work today. You, half heartedly, make your bed and get ready. You head to your kitchen, trying to find some coffee- _maybe that could wake you up a bit._ Alass, there is none.

As you open the door, the mild Fall air hits your face. You look down towards your crops- coming face to face with a crow. Great, just another reason this day will be a downer. Quickly, you run down the stairs of your porch, yelling at the crow. It flies away, leaving an empty patch where a cranberry bush once stood. 

You sigh, heading over to water the remaining crops. After you finish watering, you head over to your coop. A chicken clucks as you walk in, you smile at it. You search the ground to try and find eggs; you find one sat in the corner. You pick it up and place it in your bag. As you leave, you pet the chicken. It clucks in happiness.

You place the egg to be sold. Today you had one more job: try to find a substitute gift. You head towards the few chests you had, that were lined up next to your house. They were clumsily sorted, you just couldn’t be bothered to put them in order. You look through the first chest- nothing other than random ores and seeds. There's only random foraging items and useless trash in the next one. In the third chest, you shuffle through some old crops. You find a red tulip at the bottom- _that will do._

Maybe they could put it in a plant pot or something. _It would make a good replacement for all the plants they've killed, at least._

You put the tulip in your backpack. You also grab your bait. It’s that time again- time to check those crab pots of disappointment.

•••

You take a more scenic route through Cindersap Forest to get to the beach. You will fully admit the fact you are putting off seeing the crab pots. The longer you take to get there, the more time you’ll have to be disappointed. Who can complain when the forest is so nice, anyway?

You pass Marnie’s ranch. While heading past the animals, you spot Shane a few steps in front of you. You attempt to talk to him, but he just grunts and continues on his way. _That’s rude_ … You shake it off and continue on your way.

You enter town; there’s nobody out. It's a cool Fall morning, most people are probably sleeping in. None of the curtains are open in the houses you pass, the only sign of life you’ve seen this morning being Shane and the animals. You decide to check the notice board, maybe someones looking for shrimp ( _you’ve certainly got enough of them_ ). 

Wind hits you as you walk through the centre, you shiver as a chill passes through you. Maybe you should head back to the farm and grab a coat… no stop putting it off already. Check the notice board and then the crab pots- _get it over already_.

When you reach Pierre’s store, you flick through the notes on the board. There’s nothing new there, only old tasks from weeks ago. You take a quick look at the calendar, even though you already know what day it is, and head back towards the beach.

By the time you make it back over the town centre, you see some people walking around town. Jodi heading towards Joja Mart, Penny going to pick up the kids… you give them both quick smiles. You walk over the bridge that leads to the beach- _well this is it_.

The waves are alive today, thrashing quite violently due to the wind. No one would want to be on the beach today, not in this weather condition, but some people have a job to do… You see the crab pots in their usual spot. You spot that they're all full, meaning maybe you’ll get a bit of money out of them.

You bend down over them, dropping your backpack off your shoulders. You grab the bait and head towards the first pot. Opening it, you’re met with a lovely smell… of trash. You scrunch your nose, as you have to pick the slimy bag out the pot. You place some bait in the pot and close it again. The second one was a crab in it, third a shrimp. 

When you open the fourth one, your hand is snapped at. Quickly, you pull your hand out, clutching it in pain- _oh so it’s a snappy fella…_ Working swiftly, you open the pot and grab the creature by it’s spine. You close your eyes in fear; you can feel it struggle in your hand. Eventually, it stops.

You open your eyes and are met with a red crustacean.

Lobster!

Finally, you got one of the things! You almost drop it in excitement. You spent all that time and money on finding one and you finally did. You couldn't ask Yoba for a better thing… okay maybe two lobsters would be cool…

Excitedly, you shove the lobster in your bag where it couldn’t escape. You check the remaining pots, but you don’t really care what's in them. You already got what started all of this, anything else is just extra. You had no other lobsters, by the end of it, but did that matter?

You take out the lobster from your bag and put everything else in. Once you put your bag back on, you rush to the place you need to be. Luckily, it wasn’t that far. Eagerly, you knock on the wooden door. You hear shuffling from inside, meaning that they heard you. You hid the lobster behind you in the hopes of surprising them. 

The door opens and Elliott stands there. He smiles at you, glad that you visited.

“Oh (Y/N)!”, Elliott exclaims, “I’m overjoyed you came to visit.”

You giggle at him, “I’m overjoyed I came here.”

Elliott steps aside, “Do you want to come in? It’s warmer inside.”

You nod in acceptance and step inside his cabin. As soon as you're in, Elliott closes the door. It’s warm inside, it’s nice. You try your hardest to keep the lobster hidden from him, shuffling it around to adjust to where he’s standing.

Elliott walks over to his desk and pulls up a pot, “I just finished preparing some coffee, would you like some?”

You smile wobbly, “Uh, no thanks I’m good.”

Elliott nods and pours himself a cup. You watch as he takes a sip and lets out a satisfied sigh- seemingly forgetting you’re stood right in front of him. He turns to look at you again, smiling. You’re probably blushing, but you don’t know if it's from embarrassment or softness.

“So what brings you here on this wonderful day, (Y/N)?”

You can feel the lobster in your hands, condensation building on its shell due to your palms sweating. It’s time to give it to him, the lobster you’ve been working so hard to get. Here goes nothing-

Quickly, you pull the lobster from behind your back. You hold it out in front of you, presenting it to Elliott. You try to give him your biggest smile. You watch his face recoil in surprise. For a few seconds you both stand there in complete silence. 

Elliott suddenly stutters, “Oh my-”

“Happy Birthday!”

Flabbergasted, Elliott continues to stare at the lobster. He then looks at you, dumbfounded at the creature in your hands. Abruptly, his lips turn into a wide smile.

“That looks magnificent, (Y/N), how did you know lobster is my favourite?”

Remembering how you pestered Leah for the information, you try to give him your sweetest smile, “A little birdy told me you’d appreciate one.”

“This is amazing”, Elliott whispers, “May I take him?”

You give him a swift nod and hold the lobster out to Elliott. He, carefully, takes the lobster by its spine. You watch as Elliott looks closely at the lobster, seemingly captivated by something about it. 

“This lobster looks so fresh”, he mutters, “How did you maintain its quality so well?”

You laugh quietly, “I caught it this morning in time to give to you.”

“Wow (Y/N)... I’m so impressed…”

Elliott thinks for a second, turning round to his piano. He browses the items on top, grabbing the first empty pan he sees. After pulling the lid off, he puts the lobster inside. Elliott turns back to look at you, placing the lid on top.

“Hopefully, the lobster doesn’t escape before tonight.”

You smile at Elliott, “I hope you enjoy it, Elliott.”

“May I ask you something, (Y/N)?”

“Uh, yeah of course…”

“Would you mind coming back here tonight?”, Elliott asks you, “I would love to have dinner tonight in thanks for this magnificent present.”

You blush, “Are you sure you want to share it? It’s your birthday, you can have it all yourself…”

Elliott gasps, “It would not be gentlemanly for me not to offer you some. You graciously gave me this present and I get to decide if I want to share it with you.”

“Are you sure?”

Elliott smirks, “It is my Birthday, (Y/N), it would be lovely if you would celebrate it with me.”

You nod, smiling, “Okay… then I'll come over.”

“Splendid! This will be a glorious celebration!”

You laugh, “It’s just a lobster Elliott…”

“With talk like that I assume you've never had a lobster”, Elliott gasps, bringing his hand to his chest in an offended manner, “Now is absolutely necessary I share it with you!”

“Well okay then- what time?”

Elliott hums, “About 8pm would be perfect, but I don't mind when.”

Nodding, you reply, “Okay then… 8pm it is!”

Excitement settles in your brain- dinner… _tonight?!_ You can hardly contain your buzz- nervousness- and you feel like running for miles. You should leave and get your work out the way… and then prepare for tonight. You make sure to secure your bag on your back and begin to make your way to the door. Elliott looks at you, confused at what you're doing. Disappointed, Elliott asks, “Are you leaving so soon, (Y/N)?”

You turn your head to look at him, giving a wobbly smile, “I’ve got work to do, Elliott. As much as I want to stay, it's not going to do itself.”

Elliott nods in agreement, “Of course, how rude of me. I will see you tonight then, (Y/N).”

You give him a small wave, “See you later, Elliott.”

You open the door slowly and step out. As soon as you close the door behind you, a deep breath escapes your mouth. It's hard to contain yourself, you just want to lay down and scream. To think, a bunch of crab pots actually worked… and when everyone said you were dumb for doing so! 

_‘Well look at me now, Willy!’_ , you think to yourself.

As you leave, you look towards those very crab pots. After all of this, you realise how many pots you actually had… too many. _Okay, maybe Willy was right._ It's a bit embarrassing really- but now they're not a big concern. You got what you needed in time, now you don't really need to fuss that much on them.

As you leave the beach, you laugh to yourself.

_Maybe next year I'll just grow pomegranates..._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I might write a second part, but I'm not sure yet.
> 
> I take requests on my Tumblr, if you want me to write anything!
> 
> Tumblr: swagdewvalley.tumblr.com


End file.
